Patent Application
20120133478
The present invention generally relates to fuse devices, and especially relates to a fuse assembly capable of avoiding electrical arc and providing reliable electrical conduction.
A conventional fuse assembly contains a cover, two electrodes, a fuse filament, and a base. Each electrode contains a top piece, a side piece, and a bottom piece that are welded together. The fuse filament's two ends are connected to the electrodes, respectively. The electrodes are then positioned at two opposing ends of the base. The cover is stacked on the base and the fuse filament is therefore sandwiched between the cover and the base.
The conventional fuse assembly has the following disadvantages. First, due to the solid cover and base, the fuse filament would fail to completely break off when it fuses and electrical arc might occur, resulting usage hazards. Additionally, the electrode's top, side, and bottom pieces are welded together and might break loose, thereby causing bad contact.
Therefore, a novel fuse assembly is provided to obviate the foregoing electrical arc and back contact problems.
The fuse assembly of the present invention contains a first casing member with a first chamber, and a second casing member with a second chamber. An enclosed space is thereby formed by joining the first and second casing members together. A disconnection member is sandwiched between the first and second casing members. The disconnection member contains two electrodes and a fuse element between the two electrodes. Each electrode contains a first lateral section, a vertical section, and a second lateral section, jointly and integrally forming a C-like shape. The electrodes are positioned at two opposing ends of the second casing member and the fuse element is housed in the enclosed space.
The present invention has the following advantages. First, the enclosed space allows the fuse element to break off completely, thereby avoiding electrical arc and achieving enhanced usage safety.
In addition, the electrodes are integrally formed without using welding. Therefore, there is no breaking and bad contact problems.
The foregoing objectives and summary provide only a brief introduction to the present invention. To fully appreciate these and other objects of the present invention as well as the invention itself, all of which will become apparent to those skilled in the art, the following detailed description of the invention and the claims should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the specification and drawings identical reference numerals refer to identical or similar parts.
Many other advantages and features of the present invention will become manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which a preferred structural embodiment incorporating the principles of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example.
The following descriptions are exemplary embodiments only, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the following description provides a convenient illustration for implementing exemplary embodiments of the invention. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
As shown in
The first casing member 1 is a cover forming a first chamber 10 with an open bottom. Inside the first chamber 10, there are two parallel, opposing, and downward extending pressing pieces 11.
The disconnection member 2 contains two electrodes 20 and a fuse element 21 between the two electrodes 20. Each electrode 20 contains a first lateral section 200, a vertical section 201, and a second lateral section 202, jointly and integrally forming a C-like shape. The electrodes 20's C-shapes face each other. A notch 203 is provided along the right-angled junction between the first lateral section 200 and the vertical section 201. At the junction between each end of the fuse element 21 and the first lateral section 200 of an electrode 20, two opposing slits 204 are provided, thereby forming a neck section between the fuse element 21 and the first lateral section 200.
As shown in
The disconnection member 2 is joined to the second casing member 3 with the neck at each end of the fuse element 21 received by the gap 32 of a receiving piece 31. The fuse element 21 is therefore positioned between the two receiving pieces 31. Each electrode 20's C shape wraps around a lateral side of the second casing member 3, with the second lateral section 202 received by an indentation 33. The first casing member 1 is then joined to the assembly of the disconnection member 2 and the second casing member 3, with the pressing pieces 11 filling the gaps 32 and tightly pressing the necks of the fuse element 21, respectively. The disconnection member 2 is thereby housed in an enclosed space A formed by the first and second casing members 1 and 3.
As shown in
Furthermore, as each electrode 20 is integrally formed and bended into the first lateral section 200, the vertical section 201, and the second lateral section 202, the electrodes 20 will not break easily, thereby avoiding the problem of bad contact.
As shown in
The only difference lies in the disconnection member 4 which also contains two electrodes 40 and a fuse element 41 between the two electrodes 40. Each electrode 40 also contains a first lateral section 400, a vertical section 401, and a second lateral section 402, jointly and integrally forming a C-like shape. Compared to the disconnection member 2 of the first embodiment, the disconnection member 4 of the present embodiment does not have a notch along the junction between the first lateral section 400 and the vertical section 401 of each electrode 40.
The disconnection member 6 contains two electrodes 60 and a fuse element 61 between the two electrodes 60. Each electrode 60 contains a first lateral section 600, a vertical section 601, and a second lateral section 602, jointly and integrally forming a C-like shape. On the first lateral section 600 of each electrode 60, there are a number of positioning holes 603.
As in the previous embodiments, the disconnection member 6 is positioned between the first and second casing members 50 and 51, and the fuse element 61 is housed in an enclosed space formed by the first and second casing members 50 and 51. The positioning pins 53 thread through the positioning holes 603, respectively, thereby securing the disconnection member 6. The assembly of the disconnection member 6 to the second casing member 51 is identical to the previous embodiment and the details are therefore omitted here.
The disconnection member 8 contains two electrodes 80 and a fuse element 81. Each electrode 80 contains a first lateral section 800, a vertical section 801, and a second lateral section 802, jointly and integrally forming a C-like shape. The two ends of the fuse element 81 are connected to the first lateral sections 800 of the electrodes 80, respectively. The fuse element 81 is preferably a fuse filament.
As in the previous embodiments, the disconnection member 8 is positioned between the first and second casing members 70 and 72, and the fuse element 8 is housed in an enclosed space formed by the first and second casing members 70 and 72. Each electrode 80's C shape wraps around a lateral side of the second casing member 72.
While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.
